Sep
24
Antique Clocks. English and German Clocks
September 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment
A notebook of Leonardo da Vinci’s from about 1500 cqntains
the first known illustration of a fusee and it also seems likely that the
first spring clocks came from Italy, although no early examples survive,
only references to them in early papers dated 1482 and 1493.
Peter Henlein of Nuremberg was responsible for the first significant
technical advances in the spring-clock in the first decade of the 16th
century. One of only three suriving clocks of the early 16th centufy is in
the possession of the Society of Antiquaries in London and is signed
‘Jacob Zech’ (Jacob the Czech). The clock has a year wheel show ng the
position of the sun in the zodiac and an hour circle that could be ac justed
for countries such as Bohemia and Italy that used a 24-hour day. Other
than these two clockmakers the only other known one is Caspar Werner.
The first spring driven clocks were horizontal with the cases either
drum-shaped, square or later hexagonal. The sides were fully enclosed
and frequently highly engraved. Progress was rapid and soon highly
ornate and more complicated clocks appeared. Greater accuracy was
possible and so minute hands were added. Automata and astronomical
dials appeared, together with complicated strike and chime mechanisms.
An alternative method of enclosing the mechanism was devised in the
early part of the century. The top-plate and dial-plate are fixed to the
movement frame while the sides and back are left open. The whole
assembly is then slipped into a case which has much of the fron open.
This method, by providing the large bare surfaces of the case, gave
ample scope for decoration.
Centres in South Germany produced the finest clocks at this date.
Organized guilds in these areas were particularly strict and by now
distinct from those of the blacksmiths, locksmiths and gunsmiths. The
Parisian Clockmakers Guild had also been granted a charter by Fi ancois
I, but the Company of Clockmakers was not established in Engladd until
lie advent of the mainspring opened the door to the possibility of
traf/elling clocks. Although there is some doubt about the authenticity
of he story, it is said that Louis XI (1423-83) was the owner of the first
tra felling clock, which it was said, was small enough to fit into the sleeve
of his gown. The clock was supposedly delivered to the king in 1480 by
Jeanlde Paris, so that if the story is true the king owned a clock that was
no Weight-driven, so preceding the earliest known Italian examples first
se« lin 1485. Mher than the Zech clock, another clock of German origin from
c.l 550 and now in a private collection, is a further step on the road to
travelling clocks. Drum-shaped, with no engraving on the case, it has an
iron movement with a tall fusee and large balance, but no balance spring.
Th sjclock has a leather travelling case with lock and key.
Drum-shaped table clocks with detachable alarums were in use on the
coi tinent from c.l 540-1600 and many were equipped with leather cases.
On w late 16th century table clock by Roweau of Paris, which has a
circular balance but no balance spring, would appear to be just a table
clock except for the fact that the leather case has a window to show the
dia J implying that it was not only meant to be carried but was also in
op Ration while travelling.
Watches undoubtedly developed from portable clocks, the latter becom-
ing possible once the source of motive power was the mainspring rather
thalri weights. It is now thought that the mainspring was possibly in use
by pie 1450s and it was definitely known by 1477.
There is some uncertainty about who invented the watch but references
in Qosmographia Pomponiae Melas (1511) by Johannes Cocclaeus point
locksmith Peter Henlein of Nuremberg. However, Italian clock-
xers were active in this period and by 1488 small portable clocks and
probably watches were being made there. A school of watchmaking in
France did not exist until the second decade of the 16th century. Another
tion that arises in connection with the originator of watches is that
one would expect the shape of the first watch to have been drum-
ed, following the pattern of portable clocks, Peter Henlein’s early
£hes are known to have been spherical. The earliest dated watch
48) has a tambour case.
jarly German movements were made of iron with a verge escapement
foliot with a stackfreed to equalize the power of the spring. Cocclaeus’
references to Henlein, however, speak of his watches running for forty
hours, whereas watches with a stackfreed run for only twenty-six hours.
It BJpossible that Henlein used ’stopwork’ which was a device to prevent
over-winding of the watch and to enable the middle turns only of the
mainspring to be used, giving a more even torque. Examples of early
Nuremberg watches with stopwork are well known. French and English
wctjhmakers preferred the use of a fusee rather than a stackfreed.
Watches
Initially these used a gut line, but this was replaced by the chain
Striking and alarm mechanisms were incorporated in very early
watches and, as had happened with some clocks, calendar and astro-
nomical indications also became popular. Dials had only one hand, the
hour hand, and were marked in hour and half-hour divisions. Since
glass covers had not been invented, either a solid cover was used or one
that had been decoratively pierced so that the tip of the hour hand was
visible.
Decoration on the dial usually consisted of a star or sun with twelve
sunbeams connecting the hour numerals to the centre. Dials became
more elaborate as the century progressed, with engraved work replacing
the central sun.
Cases of this period fall into two groups - drum and spherical - both
characterized by a restraint in decoration which probably emphasized
the greater importance of the movement at this time. Many watch cases
were pierced so that the movement could be seen. Spherical watph cases
were shaped from copper sheet and then chiselled and engraved; drum-
type cases were usually cast. After about 1585 the German drum shape
was replaced by a circular case with domed front and back covers.
Patterns of 15th century metalwork continued into the 16th century
which saw a few innovations. Firebacks originated around the beginning
of the 15th century. They were, it is thought, first made for use in
the newly-introduced wall-fireplace, both to protect the wall and to
radiate the heat of the fire. The first ones were probably simple! slabs of
cast-iron, but they soon became decorated. A plain board was used as
the basic pattern, and the mould was open topped. After the pattern’s
removal, decoration was impressed into the sand. The commonest im-
pressions were taken from stiffened lengths of rope, pushed into the
sand to form patterns such as pentagrams, triangles, squares and borders.
Sometimes the founder would push the impression of his hand or of
some of his tools into the sand. Such decorations long persisted and were
used alongside more sophisticated decorations on the same backs.
In time, firebacks made from patterns carved in one piece became the
norm. The earliest English specimen dates from 1548. Decorations vary
enormously and include heraldic devices, flowers and allegorical.
Biblical and domestic scenes. Shape also altered somewhat over the
years; at first firebacks were simple horizontal rectangles, sometimes with
a pointed or curved top. Later they became less elongated and had more
elaborate tops; from the end of the 17th century they became roughly
square, again with decorative tops, to fit into the newer, smaller type of
fireplace. They were made into the 19th century, and reproductions are
still cast.
Firedogs or andirons have an even longer history than firebacks. They
were used in Roman times, long before the invention of the wall fireplace,
whehjthe fire was made in the centre of the house and the smoke escaped
thro igh a hole in the roof. Their parts are known as the stauke (the front,
usu Hy decorated, upright) and the billet (horizontal) bar. The billet bar
supj orted the logs and the stauke was to prevent them from falling out
of t e fireplace. The earliest liredogs were made of wrought iron, but
Iron the middle of the 16th century the staukes were cast on to the billet
bars.
F om the 16th century, firedogs became more elaborate, and though
impler types were still used in ordinary houses and the kitchens of
big louses, the more flamboyant types were used in the main rooms of
the big houses. Before long they became no more than a decorative
adjunct to the fireplace, in elaborately-wrought and highly-polished
braskJ bronze, steel and even silver.
Cast-iron holloware should also be mentioned (cauldrons, bowls and
mortars for instance), which was made in the low Countries and in
England in great quantities from the 16th century onwards. Design
followed that of similar bronzework, albeit more simply.
Pewter
Although domestic pewter was well established by the middle of the 15th wrough,
cent try, it was not until about 1550 that there was any attempt to move
awa ‘ from traditional designs. The reasons for this are various, notably
that pewter was not made in Italy, the birthplace of the Renaissance, and
so tli ere was no school of pewterers to lead the way. Possibly as important
as he fact that until the 16th century there was no real market for luxury
pewrerware for the rich were still buying silver. As a result most of the
pewjer made before 1550 was entirely functional not artistic.
Tie Renaissance caught up with the pewterer at the same time as did
the general increase in wealth which manifested itself in the new middle
class .As a result the second half of the 16th century saw the arrival of
the ige of ‘display* pewter, which for the middle class became their
ansver to the display silver of the nobility. Display pewter was entirely
non-functional and is characterized by its relief decoration, for which
reas it is sometimes called relief pewter. It originated in France and
sooi (became popular in Nuremberg, but was never enthusiastically
rece ved in England. One of the earliest surviving pieces is a tankard by
Rolyn Griffet who lived in Lyons from 1528 68. Ihe creator of relief
pew ter though was Francois Briot of Lorraine, who is still best known
lor his masterpiece the ‘Temperantia Dish’ which was made between
158f 490. The dish is accompanied by a ewer as is another dish he made
decorated with the seated figure of Mars. Other surviving pieces of Briot’s
de a salt cellar and a bowl portraying the figure of Susanna.
The pewterers of Nuremberg were quick to follow Briot’s example and
decoration became even more popular there than in France. The
first Nuremberg pewterer to use the technique was N icholas Horchhaimer
who specialized in large bowls with low relief figures. His particular
technique of relief decoration was rather different from that of the Lyons
pew erers who used engraved moulds. Horchhaimer’s technique is
knoton as the ‘wood-cut’ style since the final product is a flat two-tier
relief reminiscent of wood-cuts.
Sep
24
Antiqie mechanical clock, Gothic clocks.
September 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Clocks
The origin of the first mechanical timepiece is obscure. Although scholars
have studied manuscripts dating from the 5th century, it has not been
possible to reach any dogmatic conclusions. One difficulty lies in the fact
that any references to a ‘horologia’ can also allude to a sundial or water-
clopk and not necessarily to a mechanical clock.
0he commonly held belief is that the clockwork mechanism originated
Clocks
in the Islamic World where the sciences of astronomy and mat! ematics
were far in advance of those in the Western Hemisphere. Whe
her this
is correct and that descriptions carried back to Europe by the Ci usaders
engendered experimentation is uncertain, but strong evidence i
idicates
that it was in the late 13th century that mechanical clocks began t<»appear
on the Continent, spreading at a later date to England. The earliest
examples were large, iron and weight driven with a verge ard foliot
escapement. A large bell struck the hours. Apart from small hoi r mark-
ings on the motion wheel and a fixed pointer this was the only
used to indicate the hour. It was not until further technical advan
had been made and the process reversed (the pointer to travers: a fixed
dial), that dials were added.
Evidence suggests that the first true striking clocks originated
soon after 1330, for in a manuscript entitled the Chronicle of
Fiamma written in 1335, the author, while talking of the churc
Beata Vergine in Milan says ‘There is there a wonderful clock,
there is a very large clapper which strikes a bell 24 times acco
the 24 hours of the day and night, and thus at the first hour of the night
gives one sound, at the second two strokes - and so distinguishes one
hour from another, which is of the greatest use to men of every
In an earlier account written by this author in 1306 he makes no meniion
of such a clock anywhere in Milan.
Although at least one expert suggests that the first striking cldck, and
certainly the first in England, may have been one at Salisbury Cathedral
by 1306, there is more sound evidence showing that Edward
missioned a striking clock at Westminster in 1365-66 which m|ay have
been the first English clock of its kind.
Initially, clocks were made by blacksmiths under the super\|
monks. It must be remembered that prior to the Reformation all
was the prerogative of the Church and the monasteries the only
method
leairling. It was also the monks with their strict hours of devotion both
day and night that had the greatest need for a mechanically regulated
timfekeeper with an alarm bell. However, by the 14th century large public
clocks were appearing on churches, palaces and other buildings through-
out! Europe. References can be found in contemporary literature to
clocks on the Church in Milan (1335); the Carrara Palace at Padua
(1344), at Rouen (1389) and many other locations. Many of these are
longer extant but one of the oldest clocks in England - that of
sbury Cathedral (1386) - can still be seen in the North Transept of
the Cathedral.
ilarge dials embodying astronomical data as well as indicating the
time of day began to appear as skills grew, while others incorporated
automata - a feature especially popular on the Continent of Europe to
this day.
Possibly the first astronomical clock was made by the Abbot of St
Albans, Richard of Wallingford between 1327 and 1336, which had dials
for an astrolabe and showed the motion of the sun (and possibly the
plahets) and the phases of the moon. A touch of genius was shown how-
everSn the clock made by Giovanni De’Dondi, a professor of astronomy
at the University of Padua, and completed by 1364. The clock, which
waii unfortunately destroyed in the 16th century, not only reproduced
motions of the sun and moon but also of the five known planets in-
cluding Mercury with its unusual orbital patterns. Though it took
Dondi 16 years to make the clock, its sheer complexity as well as the
technical problems he had to surmount suggest he was a man of rare
ity.
The earliest domestic clocks were also of iron and were weight driven
l a verge and foliot escapement. The movements were held by an
open four-posted frame, but although the posts and dials were decorated,
thejades were left open. As well as striking on the hour, some had provi-
sion for quarter striking or alarm mechanisms. They were intended to
be ipng on a hook or stood on a wall bracket to enable the free fall of
weights. These early Gothic clocks, as they are generally called, first
ieared in Italy and some fine examples have survived to this day. It
wai Jhowever, only a short time before the craft passed to South Germany
with the towns of Nuremberg, Augsburg, Cassel and Ulm becoming
recognized centres. Similar clocks were also made in France and
Switzerland, but England produced few domestic clocks in this period.
Domestic Metalwork
The- development of domestic metalwork is quite similar to that of
architectural metalwork, except that in many cases it was the smaller
objects of domestic use that preceded the larger architectural applications.
The ancient world was dominated by bronze, and some of the objects
made in the first two millenniums B.C. remain unsurpassed for beauty,
for example the multitude of hand mirrors made in Egypt, Greece
Domestic Metalwork
and the Roman world. The basic design, wherever the mirror happened
to be made, was largely the same as that of a modern mirror: i highly
polished disc to provide the reflecting surface, sometimes decoi ated on
its reverse, with a handle which was also usually decorated. The handles
of mirrors were sometimes cast in the form of a figure, human o ‘ divine,
sometimes the periphery of the disc had cast figures of cupids or; inimals,
and sometimes the reverse side of the disc was engraved with an all sgorical
scene as in some charming Etruscan examples.
But bronze was used for all kinds of things: for votive objecls by the
Celts, for throne decorations by the Assyrians, for vases, larips and
boxes by the Greeks and Romans, for plaquettes by the Byzanti tes. The
list could be extended almost indefinitely. In China, fine cast brc nze was
in extensive use by the second millenium B.C. for objects as varied as
those made in the West, from hollow vessels to statuettes. The develop-
ment of Chinese bronzework was unique in many respects.
Iron in antiquity was probably used for domestic objects to < greater
extent than is now evident, for rust and other corrosives must have
destroyed much, with the result that, apart from a few fragnents of
various artefacts, one or two andirons (fire-dogs) and similar objects,
there is nothing to indicate how widely it was used.
Lead, too, is only represented by a handful of objects, though these
are varied in form, among them Egyptian votive slabs, Roman < ups and
lamps, Greek weights, vases, boxes and plummets.
The same pattern of usage for these metals and alloys contini ed from
the fall of the Roman empire until the dawn of the Middle Ages. Artistic-
ally, as may be expected, design was cruder in the early part of thi»period,
yet it often has a barbaric strength and compelling spontaneity. It varies
from the relatively simple design and decoration on bronze itewpots
made by Huns, to highly decorated cruciform brooches made b i Anglo-
Saxons. Such a splendid specimen as the wonderful shrine of St Patrick’s
bell or Bell of the Will appears later (about 1100). This was made to the
order of Donal O’Loughlin, King of Ireland (National Museum,
Dublin), and consists of bronze worked in a combination ol casting,
sheet metalwork and forging, decorated with gemstones. Anc ther im-
portant work is the font decorated with three-dimensional figures
illustrating the life of John the Baptist and supported by bul s, in the
church of St Barthelemy, Liege, Belgium (12th century).
The Gloucester candelabrum made about 1112 and dedicated to the
Abbey of St Peter at Gloucester, England, is of almost oriental s ilendour
(Victoria and Albert Museum, London). Another handsome 12th
century candelabrum, this one having seven branches, and n easuring
5 metres (over 16 ft) in height, is in Brunswick Cathedral, Germany; it is
said to have been the gift of Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxonjf. A 12th
century bronze door-knocker in the form of a lion and a ring is in Lau-
sanne Cathedral, Switzerland. A bronze thurible of the same century,
architectural in form, inscribed with the name Gosbertus, is in the
Cathedral of Trier (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany). Among its archi-
tectural details it embodies busts of Moses, Aaron, Isaac and Jeremiah,
with Solomon enthroned at its apex. Laton or latten was als) used at
this time, especially for such utensils as ewers, like the |3tl century
Gentian specimen in the form of a lion in the British Museum, London.
iiiitle domestic ironwork survives from before the 12th century. Few
large pieces remain, so it is hardly to be expected that smaller works
will have survived. However, there are a feu fragments which remain:
one or two early locks and furniture fittings, and here and there a horse-
shoe, but little more.
Lead was widely used, mines being operated in France, England,
Saxony, Silesia, Bohemia and Andalusia, yet an insignificant amount
survives. Two examples will suffice: a lead sheet in the British Museum
inscribed with an edict of Charlemagne, in which he assumes the title
of fjmperor of the West, and bearing the date 18 September 801; and a
I 2th century casket in the form ol two boxes, one inside the other, which
onofi contained the heart of Richard Coeur-de-Lion, discovered in 1838
in the choir of Rouen cathedral, France and bearing the inscription:
I IK jac l I COR RICARD1 REGIS ANGLORUM (Here rests the heart of Richard
King of the English).
vVith the 13th century came the beginning, especially in France, of a
period of brilliant domestic ironwork dominated by the technique of
the |locksmith and closely influenced by that of the armourer. Such
objects made at this early date are very rare, but those that do remain
illustrate the virtuosity of which craftsmen were already capable. One
such is a pair of watering irons, a pair of tongs with its terminations in
the form of two engraved plates, between which batter is poured, and
which are then healed so that wafers for communion hosts are made.
Later the irons were adapted for household purposes, such as making
waffles. This pair of irons is so elaborately engraved that it is a tour de
force in this respect alone, and is to be found in Cluny Museum. Paris.
Despite the rarity of actual specimens of 13th century benchwork, one
or two pattern books survive which give some idea of the scope of the
work made at this period. One series of designs by the architect Ales-
sandro Romani is in the Public Library at Siena, Italy.
In the next two centuries, and indeed until the 18th century, the objects
made by benchwork multiplied enormously. It would be difficult to
imagine greater refinement in ironwork than that which was achieved in
this work. The vast amount of labour involved, to say nothing of the
loving care in making a lock, is almost impossible to assess. There is. on
a miniature scale, as much carving in a few square inches as would be
present on many a cathedral wall or icredos. The minute jewel-like
precision attained in such an uncompromising material, well matches
the mathematical construction of Gothic architecture in general. And
although the lock is a marvellous specimen, it is by no means unique.
Such locks, large and small, are the pride of fine collections at the Cluny
Museum, Paris, at the Le Secq des Tournelles Museum, Rouen, and at
the Victoria and Albeit Museum. London. I he> were made right up to
the latter part of the 18th century, reflecting the taste of the period in
which they were made. Sometimes, in the later periods, they were
decorated with pulli and other allegorical figures. Padlocks also were
madje throughout these centuries.